Well, they do need a catcher as Kelly isn't an everyday catcher anymore and Sucre is hurt and probably headed to the DL. The Banks kid they just called up was barely hitting .200 in AA and Montero is hurt for 6-8 weeks and probably suspended for 50 games once the MLB drops the hammer on him and the others on the PED list. They are calling him up because they are out of options at C.

Blitzer88 wrote:Well, they do need a catcher as Kelly isn't an everyday catcher anymore and Sucre is hurt and probably headed to the DL. The Banks kid they just called up was barely hitting .200 in AA and Montero is hurt for 6-8 weeks and probably suspended for 50 games once the MLB drops the hammer on him and the others on the PED list. They are calling him up because they are out of options at C.

Blitzer88 wrote:Well, they do need a catcher as Kelly isn't an everyday catcher anymore and Sucre is hurt and probably headed to the DL. The Banks kid they just called up was barely hitting .200 in AA and Montero is hurt for 6-8 weeks and probably suspended for 50 games once the MLB drops the hammer on him and the others on the PED list. They are calling him up because they are out of options at C.

My honest opinion is that with a team this bad, with a season all but lost, who gives a flying fffffffccckkkk(no u makes it ok, right?) about a closer? It's not a big deal. We can pitch whatever relievers we want to see some time. If Wilhelmsen isn't closing anything, just play guys you want to see in the big leagues. He can't control his pitches at all lately, move on, pitch Furbush for ffffffccckkkk's sake. Who cares? Get younger guys some experience and build a sample size you're happy with to make decisions on them. Let Wilhelmsen work out his problems in a non-game situation. He's young enough that he might be an asset worth holding onto if we can put something together with our prospects in a couple of years, but he's not so young that you need to force it.

I think he needs to be removed from the role temporarily, not forever but tell him he's out for 2 weeks or a month or something and let him have some mop up time to work on his problems. I'm sure he can get his control back. I feel bad for the guy, in the interview after the game he just looked like he was in a daze and was devastated.

I also think the CDC needs to come to Seattle and check out the clubhouse in Safeco field because it looks like we have a new disease called suckusballitus that seems to be spreading and they need to contain it ASAP.

Msfann wrote:I think he needs to be removed from the role temporarily, not forever but tell him he's out for 2 weeks or a month or something and let him have some mop up time to work on his problems. I'm sure he can get his control back. I feel bad for the guy, in the interview after the game he just looked like he was in a daze and was devastated.

I agree. Put Capps or Furbush in as closer, put the Bartender in relief. Cannot be worse.

"The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."---LP Hartley

hawker84 wrote:And yet another beat down last night 9-2 or somethig like that.. wooohooo go Mariners.

You're only seeing what you want to see. Mariners took 2 of 3 from one of the better teams in baseball.

True and I like it. Still, would've been nice to get their first series sweep of the year.

What I'm afraid of is that they'll climb tantalizingly close to .500 again and then go on another 7-8 game losing streak. In other words, like they almost always do, give us hope and then pull the rug out from under our feet. I sincerely hope not.

I hate being right about Tom Wilhemsen, but damned if I didn't see us losing lots of games with him as the closer. Makes Brandon League look like Mariano Rivera.

I find myself wondering something.. Why the hell is Carter Capps not the closer? Now that kid has an arm on him.

Feel free to contact me if you need legal assistance. I have a great lawyer that helped me with an ex who violated my privacy and kept harassing me on MySpace and Facebook. He's very good. And there is legal precedent. - linuxpro

Wilhelmsen was amazing to start the year. Then came the Cleveland Indians game on May 20th, where the ump would not call a strike for him. This made Wilhelmsen have to throw the ball over the plate, which of course was hit, causing a run to be scored. Ever since that game, he has been shaky. He has confidence issues that need to be resolved.

Smelly McUgly wrote:Wilhelmsen is nothing like League. Wilhelmsen has (had?) an ace-curveball. League just threw really hard.

That curve is the ONLY thing Wilhelmsen has, but he can't throw it every damn pitch! Not many pitches are harder on the wrist, arm, and elbow.

League wasn't a bad closer. When he could find that split fingered fastball, he was unhittable. The heat was always on tap.

Feel free to contact me if you need legal assistance. I have a great lawyer that helped me with an ex who violated my privacy and kept harassing me on MySpace and Facebook. He's very good. And there is legal precedent. - linuxpro

Smelly McUgly wrote:Wilhelmsen is nothing like League. Wilhelmsen has (had?) an ace-curveball. League just threw really hard.

That curve is the ONLY thing Wilhelmsen has, but he can't throw it every damn pitch! Not many pitches are harder on the wrist, arm, and elbow.

League wasn't a bad closer. When he could find that split fingered fastball, he was unhittable. The heat was always on tap.

You mean besides the 98 MPH fastball. I think he will be fine. All pitchers go through this, he will get through it. We definitely shouldn't give up on him.

Wilhelmsen has the heat, but every hitter facing him knows exactly where he is going to place it.

Feel free to contact me if you need legal assistance. I have a great lawyer that helped me with an ex who violated my privacy and kept harassing me on MySpace and Facebook. He's very good. And there is legal precedent. - linuxpro

His last few outings have been impressive, but his strikeout rate hasn't been. Not sure if he can keep this up without striking people out.

Jamie Moyer disagrees with you. Bottom line, if he's learned how to get people out it doesn't matter how. We'll see but it's looking pretty good right now. Rooting for you Jeremy, especially since you're a Pasco guy.

Blitzer88 wrote:Mariners get Felix more than enough run support and than he gives it up......man nothing ever goes right for our M's.

I ran to town to get our 50# burlap sacks of wheat and flour and other assorted vittles around the top of the 4th and we're up 8-2. The last thing i hear heading out the door is that Felix is 28-0 when we score 7+ runs in 31 starts he's been fortunate enough to have been spotted...in. Make sense?

SeatownJay wrote:So, July 1st is tomorrow. Who do you think Seattle will trade away before the end of the month? My guess is Ibanez is garnering the most attention.

Agree. Dude is still an very fine major league hitter. May break Teddy Ballgame's record for homers in a season by a player age 40+. Record is 29 dingers (Williams did it at age 41 in 1960, his last season).

I think Wilhelmsen will be fine. He's having trouble with his mechanics. Sometimes flying open, sometimes throwing across his body. He just can't put the ball where he wants to, with any of his pitches. He used to live knee-high on the black with his fastball, and then would throw it up and out of the zone with two strikes. He's leaving the fastball in the middle of the plate now, belt high, or way out of the zone. I don't care how hard you throw, you're gonna get touched if you start doing that. He has also lost command of the curve, and hangs it or pulls it across the zone.

It looks like the first batch of kids, our highest rated prospects, are possibly all busts. Now the second wave of kids coming up, most of them less acclaimed, hopefully are ball players. We'll see how Franklin reacts after teams adjust to him. He's going to struggle at some point, how will he come out of it? I don't like Miller's stance. He's lunge-ish. That is a gimmick built for more bat speed that usually gets exposed at this level. Zunino looks like he came up way too soon. Looks pretty lost at the plate.

Is this Jack Z putting all his chips on the table? These guys will be attached to his legacy, not somebody else's. So he's going to bring up everybody he's got so he can take credit for all of them. Is there any chance he or Wedge are around next season?